Machine for applying flock



Sept. 20, 1955 F. G. GARRISON MACHINE FOR APPLYING FLOCK Filed July 25, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fieder-z'a G. dr'r'z sfl ls Sept; 0, 1955 F. G. GARRISON 2,718,207

MACHINE FOR APPLYING FLOCK Filed July 25, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J -XMM W/ W United States Patent O MACHINE FOR APPLYING FLOCK Frederic G. Garrison, Detroit, Mich.

Application July 25, 1952, Serial No. 300,996

3 Claims. '(Cl. 118-309) My invention relates to a machine for applying vflock. The machine comprises both a booth in which flock is applied and cooperating apparatus which conveys and otherwise handles the flock.

Flock is a material of cotton, rayon, wool, natural hair, nylon, or the like, roughly cylindrical in shape, which has been machine treated to provide uniform, desired texture. In general, it Varies from .001 to .005 inch in diameter and from .015 to .125 inch in length. It is a special type of comminuted material which cannot be handled or applied like ordinary powdered materials since it has a great tendency to pack, mat when vibrated, ball up and stick to and plug small ducts when conveyed by air. Flock has numerous industrial uses among which is its use as a coating for various articles.

In applying flock to articles of one kind or :another, hereinafter usually called the work,- the work is first coated with an adhesive material. Thereafter flock is applied thereto by spraying, dipping, or other suitable process whereby alayer of flock adheres to the work. When properly applied, flock produces a suede, velvet, or pile type of finish.

Spraying the work with a mixture of flock and air under pressure is a process commonly employed. With this process much more flock must be applied to the work than can stick :to the adhesive undercoat. The excess flock creates a serious problem unless'it'is removed in an orderly and systematic manner from the flock applying region. I have found that a most efiicient means of removing the excess flock is by removing the air and entrained flock from the region Where the flock is being applied.

Accordingly, one object of my invention is to provide a relatively inexpensive machine for applying flock which includes a booth within which flock is applied and means for removing excess flock from the atmosphere within the booth.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character wherein flock is conveyed, separated from the air in which it is entrained and is delivered, or redelivered, to the booth for application to the work.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a machine wherein excess flock is commingled with newly introduced flock and the two are simultaneously mixed with pressurized air, and the mixture is delivered through a common applicator hose to the work.

Another object is to provide a method for applying flock which is simple, efficacious, neat, and which can be performed with relatively inexpensive equipment.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example one structural form of a machine embodying my invention. It is to be understood, of course, that in commercial applications of the invention various details might vary somewhat from those here shown and described.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a machine for applying flock embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a portion of the machine, partly broken away, showing certain details of the invention, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view through the centrifugal blower and separator unit of the machine.

The method of my invention for applying flock to articles of work comprises first the step of introducing a quantity of supply flock to a region adjacent the region where the flock is actually applied. The second step in the method involves conducting a mixture of flock and air to a remote point, and at that point separating the flock from a major portion of the air contained in the mixture. Next, the mixture of flock and remaining air is placed under pressure, and the pressurized mixture is then directed at the work in the applying region. Because of the proximity of the applying region to the region containing the supply flock, excess flock in the applying region travels to the supply region, and there it is subjected to a repetition of the process.

Referring now to Figs. l3 of the drawings, the illustrated machine includes a booth 10 open at the front 11. Booth 10 may be of any suitable size and shape, and, in the form of the invention shown, it is more or less cubical in shape.

Booth 10 has a hopper-shaped bottom 12 to which is connected a conveyor duct 13. A rotatable screw conveyor 14, leading from a hopper 15, is contained within duct 13.

Hopper 15 is shown positioned adjacent booth 10, and mounted thereon is a motor 16 which drives conveyor 1'4 by means of a belt 17. Flock fed from hopper 15 normally is initially in concentrated form, and accordingly an agitator 18, also driven by belt 17, may be provided-within hopper 15. Supply flock is introduced into hopper 15 manually or by other conveyor means (not shown) from time to time as is necessary.

A duct 20 of substantial cross sectional size extends from the lowermost portion of hopper-shaped bottom 12 to a point above booth 10 where it connects with a central inlet duct 21 of a blower and separator unit 22, presently to be described in detail. As illustrated, blower and separator unit 22 is mounted on top of booth 10, and it is driven by a motor 23 through a belt 24.

Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the blower and separator unit 22 is essentially a centrifugal blower which performs several functions. It consists of a rotary impeller 25 having radially extending hyperboloid blades 26 and two circular air passages, a primary air passage 27 and a secondary air passage 28, in eifective relation with the blades. A portion of secondary air passage 28 is bounded by a dish-shaped impeller plate 29 on which blades 26 are mounted, as clearly shown in Fig. 5.

The tip ends 30 of blades 26 (Fig. 5) extend beyond the dish-shaped plate 29 and are disposed within the secondary air passage 28, there being a small clearance between the ends 30 and the common wall 31 of the two air passages.

With impeller 25 rotating at high speed, a substantial suction is created at central inlet duct 21 and a mixture of flock and air is drawn from booth bottom 12 through duct 20 to inlet duct 21 of the blower and separator unit 22. The flock and air mixture is acted on by the hyperboloid blades 26, and centrifugal force and the forces created by the shape of the moving blades effects a substantial separation of the flock from the air. The flock and a minor portion of air are caused to enter secondary air passage 28, while a major portion of air and a relatively small amount of flock enter primary passage 27.

Secondary passage 28 has a peripheral outlet duct 34 (Fig. 4) which is connected to an applicator hose 35. The latter is of sufficient length so that its free end 36 (Fig. 3) may be manipulated within booth and be used as a nozzle for spraying flock on work contained Within the booth.

It will be understood that the mixture of air and flock in secondary passage 28 is high in flock concentration, and that the air is given a substantial pressure by impeller 25. This pressure is adequate to spray the mixture from the hose end 36 at a velocity sufficient for applying flock to work within booth 10.

The substantially flock-free air in primary passage 27 exits from the blower through peripheral outlet duct 38, and this air may, if desired, be discharged outdoors. However to avoid loss of heated air during the winter in cold climates and to avoid wasting the minor amount of flock contained in the air in primary passage 27, it is within my invention to feed outlet duct 38 into a porous container such as filter bag 39. This bag discharges flock-free air into the work room and traps the residual flock which at suitable intervals can be removed through an opening shown closed in Fig. 3 by a slide fastener 40.

Use of the machine embodying my invention is believed obvious from the foregoing description. Articles or work to be coated with flock are first coated with an adhesive and suspended or otherwise disposed within booth 10. Hopper is filled with supply flock after which motor 16 is operated to drive conveyor 14 to deliver fiock to the bottom of booth 10. A foot control 41 (Fig. 3) may be provided for convenient intermittent operation of conveyor motor 16. Blower and separator unit 22 is efiective, when motor 23 is operating, to draw a mixture of flock and air from the bottom 12 of booth 10 to the unit 22. There the mixture is separated as previously explained, and highly concentrated flock is delivered from hose 35 for application to the work. All excess flock, that is, flock which does not adhere to the work, falls or is drawn by suction to the bottom 12 of booth 10 where it is mixed with new flock and then recirculated through the system and again discharged against the work.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and advantages of both the method and machine of my invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Various changes in detail may be made without departing from the spirit or losing the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A machine for applying flock comprising a booth having an open front and a hopper-shaped bottom, means for conveying flock into said hopper-shaped bottom, a centrifugal exhauster and blower having a central inlet duct, a duct connecting said hopper-shaped bottom with said central inlet duct whereby a mixture of flock and air is delivered by means of suction from said bottom to said blower, said blower having blades and cooperating housings positioned and shaped to substantially separate the flock from air and a pair of peripheral high pressure outlet ducts, one for flock and a minor portion of air and the other for the major portion of air, said blower being eifective to place the separated mixture of flock and a minor portion of air under increased pressure, and a hose connected to the outlet duct for the separated mixture of flock and air and extending into said booth for applying flock to work within said booth.

2. A machine for applying block comprising a booth having an open front, means conveying a supply of flock to the bottom of said booth, an exhauster, blower and separator unit adjacent said booth, a duct extending between the bottom of said booth and the inlet side of said unit for conducting by means of suction a mixture of air and flock from said booth to said unit, means in said unit for separating a major portion of air from said mixture and placing the flock and remaining air under increased pressure, and means for discharging the pressurized mixture of air and flock within said booth.

3. A machine for applying block comprising a booth having an open front, means within the bottom of said booth for holding a supply of flock, an exhauster, blower and separator unit adjacent said booth, a duct extending between the bottom of said booth and the inlet side of said unit for conducting by means of suction a mixture of air and flock from said booth to said unit, means in said unit for separating a major portion of air from said mixture and placing the flock and remaining air under increased pressure, and means for discharging the pressurized mixture of air and flock within said booth.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,859,304 Lipsius May 24, 1932 2,034,008 Taylor Mar. 17, 1936 2,076,451 Fallscheer Apr. 6, 1937 2,173,032 Wintermute Sept. 12, 1939 2,280,240 Kathe Apr. 21, 1942 2,324,787 Lundgren July 20, 1943 2,419,835 Hester Apr. 29, 1947 2,560,047 York et al. July 10, 1951 2,602,418 Paasche July 8, 1952 

